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Grandfather was one who had a very humorous side and a very serious side. One day he said to me: “Eddie, one of the most important things for you to do in life is to kiss each girl at least once, and kiss the pretty ones twice! That is the spice of life.” I asked him a couple months later how he determined which was the prettier girl, he responded: “Silly boy, they all are pretty!”

On the serious side he also had his opinion on how we live our life’s. He said there are two ways to live your life and I should be very careful on how I make my choices. If you believe that all the miracles happened in the days of Christ and that the days of miracles are over, you are going to be a pessimist. Your life will consist mainly of negativity and you will have a poor me attitude. It will appear that everything goes wrong, no matter how hard you try, because you have already decided you will fail. You will feel that your problems are obstacles that you just can’t get around. It will be a very unhappy life.

On the other hand, he said, if you believe miracles can happen everyday, look at your problems as challenges to grow and that there is something positive is every situation in life, than your life will be happy, full of promise and you will walk in confidence that you will succeed in every task.

Over the years I have found that to be true. Most unhappy people I know are very pessimistic and negative. They feel everything they do ends up in failure or not complete. They feel there are no miracles left in life and almost never smile. On the other hand, I have found those who are positive in life seem happier, smile all the time and live their life as though nothing can go wrong. There is no obstacle they can’t get around or over. Life, for them, is full of promise.

It is the choices we make in life that determine the quality of our future. As Grandfather said, make your choices carefully and live your life as though there are no boundaries. Be happy and look for the miracles that happen everyday all around us.

How do you live your life? I look forward to reading your comments.

By the way I agree with Grandfather about the girls, they are all pretty.

Sooner or later, a person, if he is wise, discovers that life is a mixture of good days and bad, victory and defeat, give and take. He learns that it does not pay to be a too-sensitive soul; that he should let some things go over his head, like water off a duck’s back. He learns that he who loses his temper usually loses out. He learns that all people have burnt toast for breakfast now and then, and that he shouldn’t take the other person’s grouch too seriously. He learns that carrying a chip on his shoulder is the easiest way to get into a fight. He learns that the quickest way to become unpopular is to carry tales and gossip about others.

He learns that buck-passing always turns out to be a boomerang, and that it never pays. He comes to realize that the business could run along perfectly well without him.

He learns that it doesn’t matter so much who gets the credit, as long as the business benefits. He learns that it does no harm to smile at the janitor and say “Good morning,” even if it’s raining. He learns that most of the other people are as ambitious as he is, that they have brains as good or better, and that hard work – not cleverness – is the secret of success.

He learns to sympathize with the youngster coming into the business, because he remembers how bewildered he was when he first started out. He learns not to worry when he loses an order, because experience has shown that if he always gives his best, his average will break pretty well. He learns that no person ever got to first base alone, and that it is only through cooperative effort that he moves on to better things.

He learns that bosses are not … trying to get the last ounce of work out of him for the least amount of pay, but that they are usually … people who have succeeded through hard work and who want to do the right things. He learns that people are not any harder to get along with in one place than another, and that getting along depends, about 98 percent, on his own behavior.

EFC 1981

I wrote this 33 years ago, but it still has a purpose today. I sincerely hope we all are living and learning – daily throughout our live’s.

I have a gift given to me by God. Many times in my life, I have been told that I have a calming touch. That I have a way of removing the stress and tension in a person or a room. I have been called many times to come and help smooth the anxiety in a friend or relative. I am the calm in the middle of the storm, or so I am told.

Why did God give me, a humble sinner, this powerful gift? Why this is, I am not sure, but I do have my opinion. The bible tells us that we are given gifts from God when we become Christians and that we must use these gifts for the Glory of God. I know I have been given gifts and I think one of my gifts is the ability to help bring calm to a troubled situation and remove anxiety, stress and fears from someone by laying ny hands on them.

As you know we do all things for the Glory of God and through God all things happen. I believe that the gifts God has given me are for me to use to help others see the Glory of His works. The calming touch, among others, has helped me reach out to others and bring peace to their minds and hopefully their souls.

There are people who don’t realize the gifts they have been given and some who know they are given gifts, but don’t know what they are. God doesn’t always make them obvious to us, but does lead us in the direction that reveals them. I discovered mine when God lead me to a person who was so distraught over a recent loss that she couldn’t control her movements. I went to comfort her and as I laid my hands on her to pray, she said she felt the burden being lifted from her.

The gift of calming nature, along with the other gifts we are given, are meant to be used and shared with others. How God decides who gets what gifts is unknown, but for sure, as we share them, His blessings spread. As I learn more about my gift of calm, I am sharing my gift with anyone who could use it. I can’t tell you how wonderful it makes me feel to be a help to someone in need.

I have found several gifts God has granted to me calm being one of them. I also have the gift of total recall and I have a gift of photographic memory. Not all these gifts, in my opinion, are good for it raises the standard for what people expect of you and when you can’t forget people use you as a ready reference. I remember one time my boss asked me to relate a discussion he was having with me and a coworker that happened two years before. I replayed the discussion much to the chagrin of my boss, who at the time forgot something he had promised. Not a good thing to make your boss look bad.

In the end though, we have been given these gifts to share for the glory of God and I want to encourage everyone to discover their gifts and share them with the world.

To God be the Glory and our job is to share that Glory with others for His Glory.

I was raised in a very simple life, living on the east end of the Grand Canyon. Grandfather was probably my biggest influence on everything that matters. His biggest point of advice was to go find my answer while sitting on the side of a cliff listening to the wind as it rushed through the canyon.

During the summer of my eighth year I came to him with what I thought was a very important problem. I guess at eight years old most anything is more important than life itself. Anyway he told me that the answer I am seeking will come to me if I go sit on the cliff above angel canyon and listen to what the wind is saying. That is exactly what happened, I went to the cliff and sat there thinking about my problem, listening to the wind and the birds sing through the canyon when low and behold the answer came to me. When I went back and told my grandfather he smiled and said God will answer all your prayers, all you have to do is listen to what He says.

Grandfather died when I was 12 years old and we moved to Ohio, but I have never forgotten what he taught me those years on the reservation. Whenever I came upon a problem needing an answer I would find a quiet secluded place and listen to the wind.
The answer always came to me.

Life was simpler in those days, we would make mistakes and we would forgive and forget. We loved each other unconditionally and we were always happy. What has changed over the years?

Today life seems so hard, people are constantly fighting over little things, unconditional love seems like it is a thing of the past and forgive and forget – well you can just shelf that. People today are never happy with anything and look for fault in everything. Trust is gone, love is fragile and life is full of stress. We all seem to be centered on ourselves and have no time to care for our friends and neighbors.

I think, today, people tend to harbor their fears too much. I also feel they find solace in making their live’s so complicated and miserable. I think they feel if they are unhappy, people will leave them alone. So they hide within themselves allowing the burden to hold them back from being truly happy.

I find it disconcerting when someone tells me they can’t love unconditionally or they can’t forget a hurt. I wonder why, when life is so short, they can’t find it in their heart to love others as God has loved them. I came to the conclusion that people have made their live’s so complicated they forgot the simple way of their youth. What they don’t realize is nothing has changed, except them. Life can be simple, life can be happy and life can be full once again.

When grandfather had me go sit on the cliff and listen to the wind, he was really having me find a quiet, secluded place to sit and talk to God. He was also teaching me to listen to what God tells me. Today we pray, but do we listen to His answer? I think most don’t listen when He responds and that is why we are in this position.

I still live a simple life. I still sit and listen to the wind and birds as I pray for answers. I offer my simple life to you. Give it a try.

Life is short and we don’t have much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are traveling the dark way with us. Oh, be swift to love! Make haste to be kind.

I believe the Holy Bible is the word of God, but not the complete works. The Bible is the primer of life and is the guide to how we are to be living our life.

I believe in life! But we were given free will to make our own choices and it is not my right to tell someone else how they should or should not live theirs. Many things, like abortion, are not covered in the Bible and if we look into history it was common place in the early days. Jesus said what we do for the least of them, we do also for Him. My choice is life.

I believe that when you take on a pet, you also take responsibility for it’s life and welfare. It is your responsibility to care and feed it, keep it free from harm and from harming itself for it knows no better. Putting a pet in a position to hurt itself is just irresponsible on your part. I believe a pet is one of the ‘least’ that Jesus talked about.

I believe in miracles and that they happen everyday somewhere in this world. All we have to do is look at the advances in medicine to see this is true. But medicine is just one place to look to see the miracles of God. I watch the seeds I sow grow into flowering plants and towering fruit trees. I also see miracles in the birth of small birds and watch as they leave the nest for the first time. Miracles happen everyday around here.

I believe we are a product of the choices we made throughout our life, good and bad. I believe that even when we make a bad choice, God will show us a way to make things right, if we trust Him.

I believe that everyone put in my path, was put there for a reason and that I am responsible to learn that reason. Sometimes it is to offer help, sometimes to ask for help, but always to advance the Glory of God.

I believe, as a Christian, I am a living example of God and everyone I meet is looking for me to be that example. I believe I may be the only Bible some people may ever see.

I believe in unconditional love and in forgive and forget. When you can forgive others for their transgressions and put them behind you, I believe you have just opened the door to unconditional love. I know it is hard to forget a hurt, especially when it breaks your heart, but I also know when you let it go, you feel the freedom to really enjoy life again. Why carry that burden for the person who hurt you in your heart? Life is too short for that!

I believe there is more to life as we know it today and the more we love each other the more life we will see!